A clip of ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson doing a sort of disco-samba with a scantily clad pro (not so much like a pro) kicked off the announcement that “Dancing with the Stars” will return early–on March 19, cast TBA. “We wanted people not to have to choose between (Fox’s) ‘Idol’ and ‘Dancing’,” McPherson said.
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Admitting the networks delivered an over abundance of serial dramas last fall, he said we can expect more procedural, “close ended” series for fall ’07.
“The Nine” and “Six Degrees” may return before or in May, although the essential bank robbery question of “The Nine” still won’t be resolved.
While paying lip service to the idea of adopting the British model of limited series, say nine episodes and out, McPherson said the problem is cost.
The ABC chief danced around the question of why a ratings loser like “What About Brian” is still on the air (a “disappointment but No. 1 in female demos”), dismissed the Rosie-Donald feud as “a publicity stunt for Trump’s “Apprentice,” and noted that pregnant, confined to bed-rest “Desperate Housewives” star Marcia Cross is shooting scenes “at her home, in her bed.” The storyline will have her character Bree recuperating after falling off a ladder.

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.